DAA Students Excel at State Competitions
Dakota Adventist Academy seniors, Chris Tastad and Breighton Engelhart, enjoy the Auto Body program offered at school. Taking the upper division course from teacher, Russell Haveman, they benefit from one-on-one training in the small class and learn real-life techniques used in professional shops. The personalized help has given both students an advantage not only in their class work but in state-wide competitions, such as Skills USA.
Skills USA is a nationwide organization that focuses on developing occupational and leadership skills in high school students. North Dakota's state competition is held. Featuring over 90 different skill areas, the Collision Repair competition is where DAA students can showcase their auto body talents for a chance to win tools, scholarships, and state-wide recognition.
At this year's competition held on April 19 on the campus of North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, ND, Chris and Breighton worked on two particular skill sets: metal repair and welding and plastic repair and structural analysis. A final test included fifty multiple choice questions as well as calculating an estimate for a sample car based on the needed parts and labor.
Breighton Engelhart was awarded 2nd place, winning a metric socket set. Chris Tastad won 1st place in the state! Not only did Chris win a set of tools, he was also awarded a $8,500 scholarship to WyoTech Institute in Laramie, WY. WyoTech's representative, Gordon Wilson, was at Skills USA and commented on Chris and Breighton. "Your students did very well and represented your school well. They should hold their heads high." We are very proud of Chris and Breighton's accomplishments and wish them God's blessing next year in college!
Art
Thirteen art students from advanced art classes at Dakota Adventist Academy recently entered twenty-three art works in the annual Mandan Art Association Arts and Crafts show. The show included many students from the Bismarck-Mandan area schools but consisted mainly of local adult artists. Exhibiting over 150 pieces of art, the art show highlighted techniques such as sculpture, pottery, photography, paintings and porcelain paintings. The show ran from Thursday through Sunday afternoon and featured demonstrations of Ukrainian egg painting, porcelain painting and pottery.
On Sunday, DAA brought thirty students to watch the demonstrations and view the art work. One of the highlights was a quick draw, where several local artists and craftsmen produced a piece of art in one hour after which the pieces were auctioned off to the public.
All the art pieces entered into the show were judged and two of DAA's students won special recognition. Amanda Tastad won a merit ribbon for her Romanesque-like acrylic painting, "The Madonna and Christ Child". For her water-colored, pen and ink drawing of an elk, Emily Reese was awarded a merit ribbon as well as a cash award for artistic excellence, sponsored by a local business.
DAA offers a four-year art program. Emily has taken two years of art classes from art teacher, Gary Way, while Amanda has participated in all four years of the program. Congratulations, Amanda and Emily, on your success!
Mathematics Track Meet
On April 21, Minot State College hosted 9th - 12th graders from across the great state of North Dakota for their annual Mathematics Track Meet. These students represent the top math students in each of their schools, and are tested on math principles such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and advanced math.
Seniors Danny Koh, Joon Min, and David Chapman along with juniors Andy Lee, Leanna Quaile, and Dylan Jang represented Dakota Adventist Academy against 950 other students from various high schools. These math scholars are currently in either Pre-Calculus or Algebra II, and have been taught by Julie Vieau, DAA's math teacher, for the past two years.
After taking the written test, and waiting for the grading of 950 tests, the students anxiously anticipated their results. Danny Koh and Leanna Quaile both received honorable mentions along with 10 students from other schools. Andy Lee finished 2nd for 11th graders in Class B, consisting mainly of the small schools. However, his high score catapulted him to 3rd place over all grades in all schools! He received a Minot State College jacket, t-shirt, and a plaque recognizing his achievement.
Mr. David Chapman, the faculty sponsor on the trip, mentioned that DAA was unique in that 50% of our students there were awarded recognition - no other school came close to that accomplishment!